Bird-watching Badge

3D 15 Cheung Hau Tung Annabel

I. Submit a bird watching logbook.
Observe at least five kinds of birds and make details of one of them, including their appearances such as
feathers, flying, feet, voices, etc. and their lifestyles such as their living environment, ways of feeding and
reproduction, etc.

Bali Myna

Colour: predominantly white except for the bare

patch of skin around the eye which is blue, and
also black feathers on the tip of the tail

Habitat: open, woody grasslands

Conservation status: critically endangered (fewer

than 50 adults in the world in 2020)

Breeding: During the breeding season (the rainy

season of Bali), males attract females by calling
loudly and bobbing up and down. The birds nest
in tree cavities, with the female laying and
incubating two or three eggs. Both males and
females bring food to the nest for chicks after
hatching.
Asian Fairy-bluebird

Silver Pheasant
Green Imperial Pigeon

Red Lory
II. Get to know three from the following and record the
information in your logbook:

1. The beaks of birds

Birds have lightweight keratin beaks. It is an example of structural adaptation for flight in birds, and the
flight would not have been possible if birds had heavy jaws. The shapes and sizes of beaks vary with
different birds, but they all have a similar underlying structure. The main function of the beak is to eat,
preen, feed their young ones, collect things, attack their prey and defend themselves.

2. The feet of birds

- Owls, hawks, eagles: three toes are directed towards the front and one at the back. They are very
powerful, with sharp, curved talons used to catch, hold and kill prey.
- Seagulls, ducks: a web between three front toes, providing an expanded surface for swimming
and walking on soft surfaces.

3. Feathers of birds
Bird’s feathers are made up of keratin and have many functions. The most important being helping them
to fly and to insulate their body. Two types of feathers:
- Flight feathers are stiff, long, and waterproof. Without adding weight, they help in flight.
- Down feathers are short and fluffy and help insulate the body by trapping the air next to the bird’s
skin.

III. Explain what migratory birds and stay birds are.

1. Migratory birds
Birds migrate as they do not like the cold winter weather, and create more difficult conditions to find
water, food and shelter, so they move southwards. Some examples include the barn swallow, nightingale,
and chiffchaff.
2. Stay birds
Stay birds or resident birds stay near their nesting ground in winter. Most of the birds we know, such as
the blackbird, house sparrow, woodpecker and magpie, are resident birds. Despite the cold, they manage
to keep themselves standing and flying in the barren north.

IV. Introduce the common birds in Hong Kong.

1. Spotted dove
About 30 cm long. The most commonly seen dove in Hong Kong. It looks like pigeon.
White-spotted black collar around the side of the neck and hindneck. Often seen in the countryside,
urban parks and wooded areas. Often feeds on the ground. Diet consists largely of seeds as well as an
occasional insect.

2. Black kite
Brown in colour. Usually soars high in circles gliding among thermals. The forked tail is flexed and
twisted in flight. It gives an occasional long drawn out squealing call. The most common raptor in Hong
Kong. Usually seen circling above the urban areas. A group of several hundred can be found at dusk or
dawn around Magazine Gap Road in Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island. Often glides high in the sky
singly or in groups. Feeds on refuse, fishes and dead animals.

V. Introduce the equipment required for bird-watching,

the considerations about the weather and the basic
observation skills.

1. Equipment
- Binoculars: to watch birds not too far away/in flight
- Telescope: to watch far away but relatively inactive
 - Tripod: to place telescope on
- Notebook and pen: take notes on unfamiliar birds
- Field guide: give information on general characteristics of birds such as habitat, distribution and
behaviour

2. Considerations about the weather

Make sure that the weather is not extreme. On the hottest and coldest days, birds are not active and are
only focused on finding food and water and don’t do much else. The same is true when the weather is
really foul—torrential rains, hurricane-force winds, sleet, and ice. On days like that, birds just want to be
sheltered as best as possible from the weather.

3. Basic observation skills

When you find a bird, avoid unnecessary movement. Look at the bird immediately using your binoculars.
If it is too far away, try to approach it indirectly and look again. Always avoid unnecessary disturbance of
birds. If you are using binoculars, first keep looking at the bird, then hold the binoculars to the eyes,
adjust the position and focus at the same time. Speed in locating birds with binoculars can also be
increased by a quick scan to establish the location of large branches or objects in the vicinity, helping to
confirm where exactly the bird is.